Scores injured as police use batons, water cannons against SSA teachers

Srinagar, : Scores ofteachers were Monday injured after police used batons and water cannons to disperse the protesting Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers who were on the streets to press for their demands.
The protesting SSA teachers assembled at Srinagar’s Pratap Park and tried to march towards Civil Secretariat to protest against the inordinate delay by the state government in de-linking their salary from funds received from Government of India.
However, as soon as the protesting teachers blocked the main road, police swung into action and used water cannons and batons to disperse them.
In the police action, scores of SSA teachers sustained injuries.
It is worth to mention here that the salary of teachers recruited under SSA scheme is pending from past three months.
Earlier, the SSA teachers said that the government has failed to release their salaries from past three months, forcing them to hit the streets to press for the demands. “We are facing immense hardships as the government is ignoring our plights. We appeal the government to fulfill our demands at an earliest,” they added.
Meanwhile, during the police action, scores of SSA teachers were detained and were lodged at Police Station Kothi Bagh.
Witnesses said that hundreds of vehicles were seen stranded on the busy Lal Chowk road during the protest of SSA teachers.
The traffic mess that took place due to the blockade of the main road by the teachers ended after an hour.